The Fireman (novel)
The Fireman is a post-apocalyptic novel by American author Joe Hill. The novel, his fourth, tells the tale of a deadly spore that has infected most of the world's population. Hill first spoke of the novel in 2013 in promotional interviews for his then-new novel NOS4A2. The novel was released on May 17, 2016.[1]
US cover | |
Author | Joe Hill |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Post-apocalyptic; Dark Fantasy; Science Fiction |
Publisher | William Morrow and Company |
Published in English | May 17, 2016 |
Pages | 768 |
Background
Hill first spoke of the novel during his book tour for his previous book, NOS4A2. He described it early on as a "science fiction novel about being happy in the face of darkness". He went on to say that the book is "less like Matheson, more like Crichton. Less like Hell House, more like The Andromeda Strain". On September 5, 2014, Hill did an early reading of the novel as a part of the Pixels Project on YouTube. During the middle of 2015, he spoke of the novel quite often on his Twitter account saying that it is a "big book" that is "about A Game of Thrones size." The novel was officially announced on October 16, 2015 during a short media tour that Hill did in London then released worldwide on May 17, 2016.
Plot
Book One: Carrying
A mysterious fungus has appeared and it is infecting people. This infection causes people to spontaneously combust and society must deal with the fallout of this event. Harper Willowes, who was a happily married school nurse before the epidemic broke out, is now infected.
Her husband is an insane maniac. He pretends to like her and secretly abuses her. She doesn't know, until she reads a book written by him, and when he tries to kill her, the time when he learns about her Dragonscale (deadly spore). She is saved by the Fireman, John, a man who can control the infectious Fire, along with Allie Storey and Nick Storey.
She is taken into a refuge camp, where everyone can control their infection by singing, and going into 'the Bright'.
References
- "A conversation with writer Joe Hill". Bookseller.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.